Managing local and general advertisement spot allocations

ABSTRACT

Total advertising inventory of a broadcast station can be dynamically allocated between local, or station-sold, inventory and general, or network, inventory. The portion of total inventory allocated to local inventory or network inventory can be adjusted based on feedback from an advertising service, and a broadcast log can be generated based on the adjusted allocation. The broadcast log can be delivered to a media automation system associated with a media station which plays out local inventory in accordance with the broadcast log. When the broadcast log indicates that general/network inventory is to be broadcast, the media automation system stops playing-out local inventory, and allows the advertisement system to broadcast network inventory for a period of time indicated by the broadcast log. Broadcast of local inventory can be resumed early, before the time period indicated in the broadcast log has expired.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility Patent Applications claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility applicationSer. No. 14/076,420, entitled “SPLIT SPOT BREAKS”, filed Nov. 11, 2013,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety andmade part of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for allpurposes. The present U.S. Utility Patent Application also claimspriority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation-in-part of U.S.Utility application Ser. No. 14/928,145, entitled “MANAGING LOCAL ANDGENERAL ADVERTISEMENT SPOTS ALLOCATIONS”, filed Oct. 30, 2015, whichclaims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/144,825, entitled “MANAGING LOCAL AND GENERALADVERTISEMENT SPOT ALLOCATIONS”, filed Apr. 8, 2015, all of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and made partof the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to broadcast media inventory,and more particularly to managing the allocation of broadcast mediainventory between local spot blocks and general, or network, inventory.

BACKGROUND

Advertisements, ‘advertisement spots,’ or simply ‘spots,’ may bebroadcast in blocks, also referred to as ‘spot blocks.’ Theadvertisements may include local advertisement content, as well as moregeneral, or non-local, advertisement content. The general advertisementcontent may be in the form of national advertising for a largerdemographic audience as compared to local demographics, as well as mayinclude public service announcements, or block fill (which for example,in certain mediums, such as Internet broadcasts, may be less expensivepublic-domain content while paid advertisement content may be used interrestrial broadcasts).

Such spot blocks may be scheduled during breaks between programming thatis being broadcast to multiple different media outlets or stations. Itis generally desirable to have different advertisements played todifferent audiences having different demographics. Different spots canbe inserted in different spot blocks played during the same block oftime, so a spot block broadcast over the air to a radio audience mayinclude different spots than a spot block streamed to an Internetaudience, even though the media program is the same.

In general, an allocation of local advertisement content and generaladvertisement content is sought to maximize broadcast airplay, and to beable to dynamically adjust the allocations of the different forms ofadvertisement content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of this disclosure will become apparent upon reading thefollowing detailed description and upon reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like references may indicate similar elements:

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating a conservative straight-lineadvertisement content allocation according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is another graph illustrating an aggressive straight-lineadvertisement content allocation according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a variable advertisement contentallocation based on forecast local sellout that varies from one week toanother, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a process and communication structurebetween system components according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a dynamic allocation system 600 accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method for use in a content broadcast systemaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is another flow chart of a method for use in a content broadcastsystem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for providing general advertisement content in acontent broadcast system according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating playout of local and networkinventory by a system including an instance or subsystem of a mediaautomation system collocated with an advertisement appliance, accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a Spot-Information interfacedisplaying information about dead-roll, or placeholder, cart accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an Audio-Content interface includingan audio graph of a dead-roll cart according to various embodiments ofthe present disclosure; and

FIGS. 13-15 are diagrams illustrating a control-room interfaceillustrating play-out and early-return of network inventory based on abroadcast log, according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosuredepicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are presented insufficient detail to clearly communicate the disclosure to one ofordinary skill in the art. However, the amount of detail offered is notintended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure as defined by the appended claims.

A media broadcasting system can include a mechanism by which anticipatedexcess advertising inventory can be allocated for use by an externaladvertising system. This allocation is referred to interchangeably as“allocation,” “advertising allocation,” “advertisement contentallocation,” “inventory allocation,” or using a similar term derivedfrom “allocation.” The allocation can include a designation of part ofthe total inventory to “local” inventory, part of the total inventory to“general” inventory, and a buffer designated for either local inventoryor general inventory based on either a “first-come-first-served” basis,on a priority basis, or as otherwise determined. A media traffic systemcan communicate with the external advertising system to dynamicallyadjust the inventory allocation based, at least in part, on local andnetwork sold-inventory levels. Additionally, a media automation systemcan work in conjunction with the billing system and the externaladvertising system to permit last minute adjustments to the allocation,sometimes referred to as “early return.”

As used herein, the term “inventory,” unless otherwise required by thecontext in which it is used, refers to broadcast media time sold orpotentially available for sale to advertisers. “Total Inventory” refersto all inventory available during a given period of time for a givenmedia broadcast station or stations. For example, total inventory mayrefer to all inventory during a particular week for a particularbroadcast station. “Local Inventory,” unless otherwise required by thecontext in which it is used, refers to inventory sold or offered forsale by a particular broadcaster or broadcast station, and can includetime sold or offered for sale to advertisers wishing to provideadvertisements of worldwide, national, regional, or local interest. Theterms “general inventory” and “network inventory,” are usedinterchangeably herein to refer, in contrast to “local inventory” toinventory sold or made available to advertisers by a reseller or someother entity besides a broadcaster or broadcast station. Usuallygeneral, or network, inventory is purchased in bulk, and has a lessermonetary value to the broadcaster than local inventory.

Advertising is usually scheduled for broadcast in groups of individualadvertising spots, called “spot blocks”. As used herein, an undividedlength of time allocated to playout and broadcast of network inventorycan be represented in a broadcast log as a single “spot,” from theperspective of the broadcaster, even though from the perspective of thenetwork advertising system multiple general advertisements can beincluded in that single spot. Thus, a local spot may be a network spotblock. Unless the context requires otherwise, or explicitly mentioned,the term “spot” is used from the broadcaster's perspective.

In some instances, a scheduled spot may need to be removed from theschedule, sometimes referred to as being “bumped,” for any of variousreasons. Advertisement spots removed, pulled-back, or “bumped” fromearlier spot blocks can be, in some cases, almost immediatelyrescheduled for inclusion in suitable, later scheduled spot blocks. Insome case, for example, a “bumped” spot allocated for playout of networkinventory, can be reassigned to local inventory. A rules-based processfor handling under-filled spot blocks and bumped spots can beimplemented with little or no human intervention, thereby allowing quickplacement of bumped spots into available spots based upon anadvertisement content allocation prediction, which includes a localadvertisement content allocation amount, and a general advertisementcontent allocation amount. In various embodiments, such a process can beimplemented to enable near-real-time filling of an underfilled spotblock to enhance realization of revenue from paid spot blocks, whetherlocal or general in nature.

In various embodiments, the advertisement content allocation predictionalleviates or removes a buffer-in-time between the local advertisementcontent allocation amount and the general advertisement contentallocation amount. In other words, due to the labor intensive manner toestablish an advertisement content allocation prediction, such estimateswere set for comparatively large predetermined durations. In effect,advertising revenue was left unrealized because the effectiveadvertisement prediction rate at best would be, for example, 90% of theavailable advertisement spots. Being able to accommodate near-real-timefilling of a missing or available advertisement spot blocks in eitherlocal or general content allocation to enhance realization of revenuefrom paid spot blocks, whether local or general in nature, as isdiscussed in further detail with respect to FIGS. 2 thru 15.

Available advertisement content or spots can be selected from acollection, or pool, of available spots, which may include previouslyremoved, or “bumped,” from other spot blocks. In some embodiments, thetraffic and billing system sends a bumped-spot update to a generaladvertisement system identifying a general, or national, advertisementspot that has been removed from a station log, and the generaladvertisement system marks the spots as available, or otherwise collectsthe advertisement spots.

In some implementations, at least one parameter associated with aspot-block is included in a request sent by the traffic and billingsystem. The parameter can include any of various parameters associatedwith the spot block to be filled, including the spot block start timeand end time, a station identifier on which the spot block is to beplayed, the date on which the under-filled spot block is to be played,the length to fill, and a spot-block identifier.

The traffic and billing system can use these parameters to assist inselecting advertisement spots are later identified to a media automationsystem, and to help in ranking the potential advertisement spots. Insome embodiments, however, advertisement spots are ranked based on theirrate in addition to, or instead of, using the spot block parameters.

Referring to FIG. 1, a media broadcasting system 100 according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure will be discussed. Mediabroadcasting system 100 includes media automation system 110, forexample a NexGen® automation system, which can be used to control andautomate various media broadcast functions; and traffic and billingsystem 120, for example a Viero® traffic system, which may be used toprovide control for various traffic and billing functions such asentering and editing orders, and scheduling spots. Media BroadcastingSystem 100 also includes a general advertisement system 122, sometimesreferred to as an external advertisement system or a networkadvertisement system, which may be used for provisioning generaladvertisement content for broadcast airplay via the traffic and billingsystem 120. The traffic and billing system 120 and the generaladvertisement system 122 may communicate via a network interfaces witheach other to coordinate local and general advertisement content, as isdiscussed in detail with reference to the following figures.

Media broadcasting system 100 also includes streaming broadcast system160, through which a streaming broadcast of media content can beprovided to a network, such as Internet 161. Media broadcasting system100 also includes on-air broadcast system 150, through which mediacontent can be broadcast, such as via a broadcast tower 151, and variousmedia sources such as an individual source media 142, bulk media storage141, programming from another market and received via network 140, andprogramming broadcast via satellite 131, which can be received viasatellite receiver 130.

Media automation system 110 can also include production machine 116,which receives media content from network 140, bulk storage 141, andindividual source media 142; control room machine 115, and utilitymachine 114, each of which is connected to server 113. Media automationsystem 110 can also include an over-air media server 112, for example aradio station playout device, which provides media content to on-airbroadcast system 150; and streaming media server 111, which providesmedia content to streaming broadcast system 160. Server 113 can provideaudio, video, or mixed media content to one or both of over-air mediaserver 112 and streaming media server 111.

In at least one embodiment, one or more of the illustrated servers canbe implemented as virtual servers implemented on the same hardware asanother of the illustrated servers. In each case, however,implementation of a server requires the use of hardware, and generalreference to a “server,” unless otherwise explicitly stated or requiredby the context, includes hardware components used to implement theserver functionality. Furthermore, various distributed processingtechniques can be used to spread functionality of one or more of theillustrated servers across multiple different machines.

In various embodiments, programming provided by streaming media server111 to streaming broadcast system 160 is the same programming providedby over-air media server 112 to on-air broadcast system 150. In manyinstances, however, particular advertisement spots included in thevarious spot blocks provided to on-air broadcast system 150 andstreaming broadcast chain 160 can vary, even though the length andtiming of the spot blocks themselves are generally consistent with eachother.

In some embodiments, media automation system 110 can be, for example, aradio automation system that may control a media content broadcast viamultiple different radio stations in a single market, with some or allsystem elements and subsystems co-located in a single physical facility.In other embodiments, media automation system 110 can be a radioautomation system used to provide control of radio stations in differentmarkets, in different locations, or via different distribution channels.

In an illustrated embodiment, media automation system 110 may be used tocontrol media broadcast over-the-air via on-air broadcast system 150 andbroadcast tower 151, and streaming media may be provided to the Internet161 via streaming broadcast system 160. Broadcast stations and deliverymedia in addition to those illustrated in FIG. 1 can also be controlledby media automation system 110. It should be appreciated that mediaautomation system 110 can be used with radio, television, and othermedia channels used to broadcast programming via multiple differentstations or outlets.

Media automation system 110 can obtain media to be broadcast fromvarious sources. For example, production machine 116 can obtaininformation from broadcasts in other markets via network 140. Productionmachine 116 can also obtain media from database 141, which may be adatabase local to production machine 116, or local to another server ormachine that is part of media automation system 110. In otherembodiments database 141 can be maintained by a third-party mediaprovider, which can be remote from media automation system 110.Production machine 116 can also obtain media to be broadcast fromindividual media sources, such individual source media 142, which mayinclude any of various non-volatile media storage elements, includingbut not limited to optical disks, for example, compact discs (CDs),digital video disks (DVDs), various types of magnetic andelectromagnetic storage media, or the like.

Production machine 116 can provide some or all of the media to bebroadcast to server 113. In addition to the media provided to server 113from production machine 116, satellite receiver 130 can also providesatellite content to be inserted into a broadcast via over-air mediaserver 112 and streaming media server 111. Server 113 can also receivemedia or other content to be broadcast from control room machine 115.Control room machine 115 may include a studio in which a live 15broadcast is being generated, such as a talk show or other similar liveprogram, but control room machine 115 can also provide media to server113 other than live media.

Additionally, control room machine 115 can provide server 113 withvarious control functions, and in some cases an operator can manuallyadd or remove spots, programming, and other content that server 113 haspreviously slotted for broadcast. Thus, for example, an operator incontrol room machine 115 may determine that a previously scheduledadvertisement spot in a particular advertisement spot block is not to bebroadcast for any of various reasons. Upon making that determination,control room machine 115 can be used to send a signal to server 113. Inresponse to the signal, server 113 can remove the advertisement spotfrom its previously scheduled spot block. In some embodiments, theremoved, or “bumped” advertisement spot is not delivered to over-airmedia server 112 for on-air broadcast, nor is it delivered to streamingmedia server 111 for streaming broadcast.

Traffic and billing system 120, in some embodiments, may be connected toserver 113 via a utility machine 114. In other embodiments, traffic andbilling system 120 may be connected to server 113 through othermachines, for example a control room machine 115, production machine116, or directly connected to server 113. In other embodiments, trafficand billing system 120 and server 113 can be included in a singlemachine, or collection of machines that are co-located or connected in adistributed fashion. In yet further embodiments, traffic and billingsystem 120 can include local instances or subsystems associated with oneor more media stations, and a backend subsystem used to providecentralized control or services to each of the local instances orsubsystems.

Also, traffic and billing system 120 may be connected to the generaladvertisement system 122. The general advertisement system 122 can, invarious embodiments, operate to provide network inventory directly tomedia automation system 110 for broadcast in accordance with anadvertisement content allocation communicated by the traffic and billingsystem 120. For example, if traffic and billing system 120 determines afirst allocation in which 5% of total inventory is reserved forbroadcast of network inventory, traffic and billing system 120 cannotify general advertisement system 122 of the determined allocationamount. Traffic and billing system 120 can also provide a broadcast logto server 113 of media automation system 110. The broadcast log caninclude local entries, that specify spots reserved for playout of localinventory by media automation system 110, and placeholder, or network,entries specifying particular portions of spot blocks reserved forplayout of network inventory by general advertisement system 122.

The media automation system can play out media content for broadcast inaccordance with the broadcast log using, for example, over-air mediaserver 112 or streaming media server 111. During times designated by thebroadcast log as reserved for broadcasting network inventory, mediaautomation system 110 can temporarily pause playout of local inventorywhile general advertisement system 122 plays out network inventory.Pausing playout can be implemented by playing out silence, for exampleusing a dead roll, by pausing execution of a playout mechanism, byswitching playout paths so that local inventory being played out iseffectively routed to a destination other than a broadcast system, orotherwise. In various embodiments, at the expiration of the timereserved for playout of network inventory, media automation systemresumes playout of local inventory.

The times at which media automation system pauses and resumes playout oflocal inventory can be nominally determined by entries in the broadcastlog generated by traffic and billing system 120. As discussedsubsequently in greater detail, some embodiments provide for earlyreturn to local inventory playout, where the term “early return” refersto resuming playout of local inventory prior to the nominal timespecified in the broadcast log. An early return can be invoked, forexample, if the general advertisement system 122 does not havesufficient network inventory to fill the time reserved for playout ofnetwork inventory, of if a disruption in communication or malfunction isdetected by media automation system 110.

The general advertisement system 122 can coordinate, orders, andcatalogs general advertising content that is in turn accessible throughthe system 122 for broadcast airplay. As contrasted to “localadvertisement content,” general, or network, advertisement content orspots or inventory refers to advertisements or other inventory providedby advertising networks or services. Network or general advertisingsystems and services can in some embodiments, include systems used byaggregators who purchase unsold advertising space in bulk frombroadcasters, and re-sell advertising inventory to advertisers at adiscount in exchange for the advertisers relinquishing some control ofexactly where and when their advertisements will run. The generaladvertisement system 122 may access general advertisement contentthrough a network interface to the network 124, or may otherwise berouted or provided by other network pathways, such as a wide areanetwork, local area network, personal area network, etc.

In various embodiments, general advertisement system 122 can providetraffic and billing system 120 with network inventory information 123 atvarious different points in time. The network inventory information 123can be transmitted by general advertisement system 122 in response to arequest by traffic and billing system 120, in response to a change inthe network inventory as determined by general advertisement system 122,or otherwise. Traffic and billing system 120 can, for example, usenetwork inventory information 123 received during a broadcast-logplanning stage to set an inventory allocation for use in generating abroadcast log used by media automation system 110. In variousembodiments, inventory allocations can be determined on astation-by-station basis, on a regional basis, or otherwise. In someembodiments, an initial allocation can be determined on a multi-stationbasis, and later alteration to the inventory allocations can be modifiedon a station-by-station basis. In other embodiments, the initialinventory allocation used by traffic and billing system 120 used togenerate an initial broadcast log need not take network inventoryinformation 123 into account when establishing the initial inventoryallocation.

General advertisement system 122 can also transmit adjusted networkinventory information 123 to traffic and billing system 120 aftertraffic and billing system has already established a first inventoryallocation, and in some cases after traffic and billing system 120 hasalready generated an initial broadcast log based on the initialinventory allocation and provided the initial broadcast log to mediaautomation system 110. Traffic and billing system 120 can use theadjusted network inventory information 123 to generate an adjustedinventory allocation that takes into account the changes in the networkinventory. The adjusted inventory allocation can then be used by trafficand billing system 120 to alter the initial broadcast log to account forthe changes in network inventory.

In at least one embodiment, the inventory allocation used by traffic andbilling system 120 to generate either an initial or subsequent broadcastlog establishes a portion of total inventory is to be designated orreserved for local inventory, what portion of total inventory is to bedesignated or reserved for network, or general, inventory, a size to usefor an inventory buffer, and whether or not the inventory buffer will bea straight-line buffer, or a variable buffer.

In addition to being connected to traffic and billing system 120,general advertisement system 122 can also be connected to mediaautomation system 110 via a communications network, allowing generaladvertisement system 122 to communicate directly with media automationsystem 110. In FIG. 1, the connections are illustrated between generaladvertisement system 122, over-air media server 112, and streaming audioserver 111, to illustrate that general advertisement system 122 cancommunicate with local media servers used by individual stations.

This direct connection can, in some embodiments, facilitate generaladvertisement system 122 providing network inventory directly toover-air media server 112 or streaming audio server 111 for broadcast.In some such embodiments, over-air media server 112 or streaming audioserver 111 broadcast content in accordance with a broadcast log providedby traffic and billing system 122 via server 113. The broadcast log caninclude local entries specifying local inventory to be played out inparticular spot-blocks, and placeholder entries corresponding toexternal inventory to be played out by an external advertisement system,such as general advertisement system 120. During times, or spots,designated for use by the external advertisement system, over-air mediaserver 112 and streaming audio server 111 can temporarily stopplaying-out local content, and deliver network inventory received fromgeneral advertisement system 122 to their respective broadcast channels,on-air broadcast system 150 or streaming broadcast system 160. Invarious embodiments, this delivery can be done at a local level, using anetwork advertisement appliance that is an instance or subsystem ofgeneral advertisements system 122 collocated with a local instance orsubsystem of media automation system 110, although collocation is notrequired.

In some embodiments, although not specifically illustrated, generaladvertisement system 122 is connected directly to server 113 instead of,or in addition to being connected to over-air media server 112 andstreaming audio server 111. Some such embodiments permit communicationbetween a central media automation system controlling multiple mediabroadcast stations, individual instances of a media automation systemassigned to particular broadcast stations, or a combination thereof. Insome such embodiments, Traffic and billing system 120 may communicatespot block information 119 to server 113, usually in the form of abroadcast log, and server 113 can communicate changes made to spot blockinformation 119 back to traffic and billing system 120.

In various embodiments, spot block information 119 provides a mechanismthat can include requests for identification of potential advertisementspots available for inclusion in predetermined portions of a broadcastairplay. The spot block information 119 can include, for example, spotreservations for local advertisement content and spot reservations forgeneral, or network advertisement content.

In general, traffic and billing system 120 can be used to providecontrol and monitoring of the sale and scheduling of advertisementspots, and to determine which advertisement spots are to be played onwhich stations at particular times. This information can be provided inthe form of a log file in some embodiments. Media automation system 110can use server 113 to gather programming and media information fromvarious sources, and combine that information with spot blockinformation 119 to generate a log file indicating a substantiallycomplete representation of which media and spots are to be broadcast.The log file and related information can be provided to both over-airmedia server 112 and streaming media server 111 for broadcast over theirrespective chains.

For example, programming provided from a satellite feed received throughsatellite receiver 130 will generally have breaks in its programming.The beginning and end of these breaks can be identified by dual-tonemulti-frequency (DTMF) tones provided with the programming, ordetermined through various other means. Spot block information 119, caninclude the identity of various spots that are available to be played onparticular stations during particular times, the priority of the spotsin relationship to each other, and other similar information, which canbe used to schedule spots into appropriate breaks in the programming.

In some instances, advertisement spots played over streaming broadcastsystem 160 can be different than spots played over on-air broadcastsystem 150, even though the programming and the breaks between variousprogramming and media items are the same. Thus, a first spot block to bebroadcast over on-air broadcast system 150 by over-air media server 112may include three spots to be played from 10:00 AM to 10:03 AM on aparticular date. A second spot block to be broadcast over streamingbroadcast system 160 may include two of the same spots included in thefirst spot block, with the third spot reserved for an advertisementtargeted to an Internet audience via the Internet 161.

Due to various circumstances, one or more spots, and in some casesentire spot blocks, may be removed from a particular spot block due toallocation conflicts between the local advertisement content allocationand the general advertisement content allocation.

With respect to general, or network advertisement content allocation,the traffic and billing system 120 can be used to resolve allocationconflicts, and notify the general advertisement system 122 if aparticular general advertisement spot, or general advertisement spotblock, is to be the removed due to preference for airplay for a localadvertisement content.

Because media broadcast stations generally derive revenue frombroadcasting paid advertisement spots, any advertisement content spotsthat are removed, whether those spots were used to schedule localadvertising or reserved for network advertisements, should be laterreinserted into the media stream if possible, so that revenue for theadvertisement spots, or content, is not lost. But because differentspots can be included in corresponding spot blocks on differentstations, or on the same station being broadcast over different chains,reinserting bumped spots can require a close coordination between themedia automation system 110 and the traffic and billing system 122.Additionally, some spots, whether paid or not, may have a higherpriority than other similar spots, and are generally referred to hereinas “priority spots.” In some cases it is desirable to reinsert priorityspots that have been removed from the media stream.

Close coordination can also be important to make sure that variousscheduling and marketing parameters associated with reinserted priorityspots, including local/network inventory allocations, are satisfied. Inat least one embodiment, traffic and billing system 120 can maintaininformation regarding scheduled spots that should be played either atcertain times of day, on certain days of the week, spots that should beplayed in conjunction with various other spots, spots having priorityover other spots with the same or similar parameters, or spots whoseplacement in a spot block or is otherwise constrained. The informationmaintained by traffic and billing system 120 can include any instancesof early-returns from spots designated for use by general advertisementsystem 122.

In some instances, particularly with regards to a streaming broadcastchain 160 provided through streaming media server 111, some of theadvertisement spot blocks scheduled for play later in the day, may beunder-filled, meaning that a sufficient number of spots have not yetbeen scheduled to fill the time allotted for a break between, or within,various different media programs. In some cases, if priorityadvertisement spots, e.g. paid advertisements, meeting the requirementsof a particular under-filled spot block are not available, traffic andbilling system 120 will insert unpaid or lower priority filler, e.g. apublic service announcement, into the available space. However, if oneor more of the previously bumped priority spots meet the criterianecessary for being broadcast in the under-filled spot block, thosepriority spots can be inserted into the under-filled spot block to allowmedia automation system 110 to recover revenue that may otherwise havebeen lost.

To make these previously bumped spots available for inclusion inunder-filled spot blocks, server 113 can provide information to trafficand billing system 120 related to spots that have been removed. Trafficand billing system 120 can collect and store information about bumpedspots that may be available for future inclusion in under-filled spotblocks. Over-Air media server 112 or streaming media server 111 cannotify database 20 server 113 of under-filled spot blocks, and requestserver 113 to provide content to be included in those under-filled spotblocks. Server 113 can, in turn, request traffic and billing system 120to search through its collection of available priority spots to identifypotential spots that are available for inclusion in the under-filledspot block. Traffic and billing system 120 can return the requestedinformation to server 113, which will in 25 some embodiments selectwhich of the potential spots to be included in the under-filled spotblock. Server 113 can provide the spot to the appropriate server forbroadcast, and send a message back to traffic and billing system 120indicating which of the potential spots were chosen for inclusion in theunder-filled spot block. Traffic and billing system 120 can then updateits list of available spots to indicate that a selected spot has alreadybeen 30 rescheduled for broadcast in the under-filled spot block.

In some embodiments, filling under-filled spot blocks is performedautomatically, and on a time scale that can be impractical if humanintervention or decision making is required. Thus, for example, anunder-filled spot block in the following minutes can be filled with aspot bumped during the previous minutes. In some cases, a bumped spotcan be placed in the next spot block playing on the same station if, forexample, the next spot block includes unpaid filler, lower priorityspots, or under other circumstances as desired.

It will be appreciated that various implementations of system 100 can berealized based on the teachings set forth herein, and are not limited tothe exact configurations discussed with reference to FIG. 1. Forexample, although at least one embodiment includes separate traffic andbilling systems 120, similar functionality can be provided using asingle, integrated or system having one or more local or distributedprocessing, storage and communication elements. Thus, althoughembodiments including automation and traffic systems 120 and interactionwith a general advertisement system 122 are primarily discussed herein,other embodiments can be implemented without the need for cooperationbetween separate 15 automation and traffic systems.

Referring next to FIG. 2, a conservative straight line advertisementcontent allocation (conservative allocation) 200 is illustrated anddiscussed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Conservative allocation 200 can be considered a conservative modelbecause the local allocations provide for a generous buffer 206 thatlimits conflicts between general and local advertisement content over apredetermined duration 216. In the example of FIG. 2, the predeterminedduration 216 is shown on a 12 week basis, but other bases, for examplean annual, 12 month basis, can also be used. Conservative allocation200, designates approximately ten-percent of the total inventory togeneral advertisement allocation amount 202, the local advertisementcontent allocation amount 204, which includes forecasted unsold localinventory 212 and forecasted sold local inventory 214, is givenapproximately eighty-percent of the allocation, leaving the buffer 206with approximately ten-percent of the advertisement allocation. A desireexists to provide a flexible allocation to capture the allocation of thebuffer 206 for revenue generation. Coupled with an unsold (orunder-filled) amount-unsold local advertisement inventory 212 and unsoldgeneral advertisement content 208, the revenue loss from unsoldinventory would be further compounded in the instance when, for example,sold general advertisement content 210 is available to be placed ininventory not allocated to either general advertisement contentallocation amount 202 or local advertisement content allocation amount204.

Conventionally, due to the long range budgetary practices, theallocation prediction had been set and left as a best estimate for thepredetermined duration 216, and could not readily be adjusted due to theestimated revenues and management of the advertisement content pools.Accordingly, a dynamic allocation prediction is desired which permits(a) a conflict of the amount of local advertisement content to exceedthe allocation for a predetermined period, and (b) an adjustment of theadvertisement content allocation prediction to take place over apredetermined duration, which may be more granular than that associatedwith conservative allocation 200.

Referring next to FIG. 3, an aggressive straight-line advertisementcontent allocation prediction (aggressive allocation) 300 according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure will be discussed. Inaggressive allocation 300, an advertisement content allocation amount304 provides for a general advertisement content allocation amount 302and a local advertisement content allocation amount 304, which aresubstantially complementary to each other to take advantage of the totalsales percentage 318. In at least one embodiment, aggressive allocation300 provides little or no buffer between general advertisement contentallocation amount 302 and a local advertisement content allocationamount 304, requiring tradeoffs, pullbacks, or temporary inventoryreallocations if more than the estimated amount of either networkinventory or local inventory is sold.

In the example of FIG. 3, the allocation amount 302 is approximatelythirty-percent, while the allocation amount 304 for local advertisementcontent is approximately seventy-percent, although other allocations canbe made based on anticipated inventory sales. By using an aggressiveallocation 300, advertising revenue is captured that may otherwise belost with a buffer 206 (see FIG. 2). With scheduling of advertisementcontent, the general advertisement content allocation amount 302includes an unsold amount 308 and a sold amount 306, which occupy theallocation amount 302. The local advertisement content allocation amount304 includes an unsold amount 312 and a sold amount 310.

Local and general conflicts 320 and 322 arise when the populated localadvertisement spots for the predetermined duration 316 exceed thegeneral advertisement content allocation amount 302 and conflicts withthe advertisement content as a result. In the conflict resolution of thepresent embodiment, the conflict 320 and 322 may be resolved bypulling-back the general advertisement content, such as with conflict322, and using in later content scheduling, or may reside in thescheduled area because the region is in an unsold amount 308 such aswith conflict 320. Moreover, the unsold or under-filled amount of thelocal advertisement content 312 may be deemed a reallocation 332 inwhich general advertisement content may be used to fill withunder-filled space.

Also, when a number of populated local advertisement spots for thepredetermined duration 316 exceed the general advertisement contentallocation amount 302 beyond a conflict threshold 324, the advertisementcontent allocation prediction 300 may be dynamically adjusted for thelocal advertisement content allocation amount 304 and the generaladvertisement content allocation amount 302 to reduce the numberexceeding the conflict threshold 324.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified or required by context, theterm “conflict” is used to refer to a scenario in which local inventorysell-out spikes, and the amount of local inventory encroaches on theportion of the total inventory allocated to network inventory. Forexample, if a commercial order comes in and there is no inventory/spaceavailable to schedule the commercial order into the local/nationalinventory. Traffic and billing system 120 can determine that it isbetter to book this spot at the expense of the network allocation, butwill, in some embodiments, bump a network spot only if informationreceived from the general advertisement system 122 indicates thatnetwork inventory has not sold out. If network inventory has not soldout the bumped network spot can, in many cases, be pulled back withoutsignificant adverse impact on general advertisement system 122.

In this manner, accommodation of the greater of the local advertisementcontent orders may be accommodated to capture advertising revenueotherwise lost or limited. For example, assume that more local inventory(higher revenue to broadcaster) has been sold than the amount allocated,and that some of the allocated network inventory (lower revenue tobroadcaster) remains unsold. Absent inventory reallocation revenue fromthe sale of local inventory might be lost to the broadcaster. If,however, more local inventory (higher revenue to broadcaster) has beensold than the amount allocated, but the allocated network inventory issold out (lower revenue to broadcaster), the revenue to the broadcastercan be said to be limited without reallocation, due to the lower valueof the network inventory to the broadcaster.

In some embodiments, the portion of total inventory reserved ordesignated for local inventory used can be re-designated for general, ornetwork use. In some such embodiments adjusting the allocation in favorof network inventory can provide a mechanism for placing network spotsthat were bumped based on an allocation in favor of local inventory.

With the adjustment 330, a change request may be sent to indicate to thesystem an adjustment of the advertisement content allocation predictionfor at least the general advertisement content allocation 302 andcorrespondingly for the local advertisement content allocation amount304. As should be appreciated, the conflict threshold 324 and theadvertisement allocation prediction 300 may be adjusted accordingly, forexample to take advantage of advertising revenue.

Referring next to FIG. 4 a graph illustrating a variable advertisementcontent allocation (variable allocation) 400 based on forecast localsellout that varies from one week to another, be discussed according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments of variable allocation 400 designate variableportions of the total inventory to local inventory allocation 414 andnetwork inventory allocation 402. Variable allocation 400 includes abuffer 406, which can be assigned a 20% buffer width, for example, thatcan vary directly with estimated local inventory allocation 414. In atleast one embodiment, the network inventory allocation 402 can bedetermined by adding the portion of total inventory reserved for localinventory, adding the buffer width, and subtracting the result from thetotal inventory to determine the remaining portion of the totalinventory to be designated for broadcast of network inventory. Stated inthe inverse, the portion of total inventory allocated to networkinventory 402 can be described as the forecast unsold local inventory407 minus the width of buffer 406.

Consider for example, week 7, where the local inventory allocation 414has a negative peak at approximately 35%. Adding 20% for the width ofbuffer 406 to local inventory allocation 414 leaves approximately 45% ofthe total inventory available for network inventory 402. Similarly,during week 4, the local inventory allocation 414 is peaks atapproximately 78%, and adding in a 20% buffer width leaves approximately2% of the total inventory available for network inventory broadcast.

Note that during weeks 9-10, the actually sold local inventory 405exceeds the combined local inventory allocation 414 plus buffer 406, andencroaches into the portion of the total inventory reserved for networkallocation 402. In various embodiments, a traffic system generatingbroadcast logs based on variable allocation 400 can transmit a messageto an external advertisement system responsible for scheduling networkinventory, and requesting that the external advertisement systemrelinquish some of the network inventory for reallocation to localinventory broadcast. In some embodiments, rather than sending a request,which implies asking permission, a notification is sent and the networkinventory is pulled back.

In at least one embodiment, in response to the request or notification,the external advertising system replies to the request by transmittingnetwork inventory information 123, which can be used to inform thetraffic system of a network inventory status indicating how much of therequested inventory is unsold network inventory 408, how much of therequested inventory is actually sold network inventory 410. In at leastone embodiment, the traffic system will pull back only unsold inventory,while in others even sold inventory will be pulled back. If soldinventory is pulled back, traffic system may attempt to place thepulled-back inventory using a bumped-spot replacement technique, subjectto network inventory allocations at the time and location of attemptedplacement.

Referring next to FIG. 5, a process and communication structure 500between system components according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be discussed. The process and communicationstructure includes general advertisement system 122, traffic and billingsystem 120, and media automation system 110.

A revenue management system 12 provides an advertisement contentallocation prediction 501, which the traffic and billing system 120receives, and imports a chronological schedule 502. The allocationprediction 501 provides information for broadcast airplay that includesa local advertisement content allocation amount and a generaladvertisement content allocation amount. In the dynamic allocationcontemplated, the local advertisement content allocation amount and thegeneral advertisement content allocation amount are substantiallycomplementary for a predetermined duration of the broadcast airplay. Thechronological schedule 502 can provide a request 504 to the generaladvertisement system 122 and is also provided to an order line creator512 of the traffic and billing system 512.

The general advertisement system receives the general advertisementrequest 506 and the general advertisement system 122 orders, retrievesand/or creates the general advertisement content for scheduling at 508to produce the scheduled advertisement content as scheduled at 510.

The traffic and billing system 120 receives the chronological schedulefrom 502 and generates an order line creation at 512. The advertisingfor the local and the general advertisement content are populated in thescheduled at 518, with input from the order line creation 512, the localadvertisement content 514, and the general advertisement content 516.For scheduling, the listing may include links to physically storedadvertisement content of the general advertisement system 122, and thetraffic and billing system 120, respectively.

The populated scheduling is reviewed by the traffic and billing system120 for conflicts for the predetermined duration exceed the generaladvertisement content allocation among and conflicts with the generaladvertisement content in conflict resolution 520. When this occurs, thegeneral advertisement content pulls back general advertisement contentfrom the populated local advertisement spots to accommodate the localadvertisement content in the advertisement spots. The generaladvertisement content is updated at updated general status 522 via anupdate request 524 listing the general advertisement content as beingpulled-back. The general advertisement content being available onceagain for populating another remaining ones of the plurality ofadvertising spots, or subsequent advertisement spots.

Moreover, the traffic and billing system 120 may indicate determinewhether the number of conflicts that occur in the local and generaladvertisement content scheduling for the predetermined duration exceed aconflict threshold. When the threshold is exceeded, the traffic andbilling system 120 may adjust the advertisement content allocationprediction 501 for the local advertisement content allocation amount andthe general advertisement content allocation amount to reduce the numberexceeding the conflict thresholds, and to take advantage of anincreasing trend in the amount of local advertisement content. Likewise,the allocation prediction 501 may be adjusted to take advantage of anincreasing trend in the amount of general advertisement content.

The general advertisement system 122 receives the update request 524sent by the traffic and billing system 120 to a general advertisementcontent source of the general advertisement system 122 to log the pulledback status of the general advertisement content. The update request 524may also include a change request, which indicates an adjustment of theadvertisement content allocation prediction 501 as related to thegeneral advertisement content allocation amount.

Following resolution of any conflicts, and any adjustments to theallocation prediction 501, the traffic and billing system 120 generatesa program 526, which is provided to the media automation system 110 forbroadcast airplay at 528. When general advertisement content is detectedin the program log of 526, the media automation system 110 queues thegeneral advertisement content at 530. In the present example of FIG. 5,the program log 526 does not include the physical advertising content,but instead links indicating the location. The general advertisementcontent system 122 contains and coordinates the general advertisementcontent. The media automation system 110, via the queue, sends a contenttrigger 532 to the general advertisement system 122 to facilitate thebroadcast airplay of the general advertisement content at 534. Thecontent trigger 532 may include general advertisement contentidentifiers, and may be in the form of a code tone. Upon completion ofthe general advertisement content identified by the media automationsystem 110, the general advertisement system 122 provides anacknowledgement 536 to the media automation system 110.

The traffic and billing system 120 also attempts to provide releasedadvertisement inventory to the general advertisement system 122. Thesystem 120 can import data from a revenue management system 121. Thesystem 120 operates to processes data to create orders and order-linesto correspond with general advertisement content inventory of thegeneral advertisement system 122. In some embodiments, in request 504,the system 120 causes the general advertisement system 122 to (a) notupdate existing general advertisement content inventory, and to retrievenew offers of the advertisement content, in which existing advertisementcontent offers of future weeks are deactivated and new offers of futureweeks are created by the general advertisement system 122 via thenetwork 124 (see FIG. 1), (b) the system 122 creates a single offerbased on passed in offer object in the request 504 body, and/or (c)obtains a status of the general advertising content inventory beforeattempting to expire, or allow to expire, the general advertisementspots. In some embodiments, changes from import schedule 502 will notcancel previously booked offers in the network. Instead, changes thatreduce the network allocation will only be made (reduced) againstinventory in the network system that have not been booked yet.

The general advertisement system 122 may then attempt to obtain thegeneral advertisement content again, at the direction of the traffic andbilling system 120, and the system 122 may continue to sell spots thatare no longer ‘excess’ for the traffic and billing system 120. In theevent that general advertisement content is unsold (and accordingly, theallocations amounts of the general advertisement allocation amount areconsistently under-filled or unsold), when local advertisement contentis available for population of the advertisement slots of the generaladvertisement allocation amount.

In an alternate embodiment, the traffic and billing system 120 attemptsto expire all unsold general advertisement content spots for apredetermined number of days in the future (during the predeterminedduration). For temporal reallocation, the system 120 indicatesscheduling for the number of advertisement spots to be equal to thenumber of unsold advertisement spots in the local advertisement contentallocation amount. In the event unsold spots are not able to be forcedto expire, the general advertisement system 122 expects more generaladvertisement content spots for broadcast airplay, and may yet fill theadvertisement spots with no-cost spots (public service announcements orblock fill).

In at least some embodiments, if network inventory information 123indicates inventory that remains unsold within a threshold time before astandard time-to-air, traffic and billing system 120 can reduce theportion of total inventory allocated to an external advertisementsystem, such as general advertisement system 122. In some embodiments,the reduced allocation is allocated to local inventory, removed frominventory and re-designated for programming. The threshold time can be,for example, within 1 week of scheduled air time.

Referring next to FIG. 6, a dynamic allocation system 600 according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure will be discussed. Thedynamic allocation system 600 includes a traffic and billing system 120,a general advertisement system 122 and a media automation system 110.

The traffic and billing system 120 operates to receive a log file 602,which may be generated by a revenue management system. The log file 602includes advertising revenue information, such as allocation prediction603 for broadcast airplay. The prediction 603 includes a localadvertisement content allocation amount and a general advertisementcontent allocation amount. In the dynamic allocation system 600, thelocal advertisement content allocation amount and the generaladvertisement content allocation amount are substantially complementaryto allocate the entire advertising allocations for a predeterminedduration of the broadcast airplay. For example, the local advertisementcontent allocation amount may be about eight-percent, and the generaladvertisement content allocation amount is a about twenty-percent, incomplementary fashion.

With the allocation prediction 603 for a predetermined duration, thetraffic and billing system 120 imports a chronological schedule 604 thatdesignates a plurality of media content spots and a plurality ofadvertising spots for the predetermined duration. With this information,the traffic and billing system 120 populates local advertising spotallocation of the chronological schedule by populating, or schedulingwith a local advertisement content listing to produce populated localadvertising spots. The traffic and billing system 120 populates thegeneral advertising spot allocation of the chronological schedule 604 bysending a request to the general advertisement system 122 via the managegeneral inventory communication link 606. The general advertisementsystem 122 also received the log file 602, and is able to access thenetwork 124 to retrieve the general advertising content to satisfy thelog file 602 and the chronological schedule 604, when sufficient “sold”quantities of general advertisement content are present.

The traffic and billing system 120 populates remaining ones of theadvertising spots with general advertisement content available from ageneral advertisement content listing according to the chronologicalschedule 604.

Upon populating the chronological schedule, the traffic and billingsystem 120 generates a program log 608, which is provided to the mediaautomation system 110 for broadcast via the on-air broadcast system 150,and/or the streaming broadcast system 160, as directed.

As general advertisement content is scheduled for broadcast airplay, themedia automation system 110 provides a request 610 to the generaladvertisement system 122, which conducts the airplay of the content aslocally stored or otherwise accessed remotely through the network 124.Upon completion of the airplay, the general advertisement system 122provides an acknowledgement 612 to the media automation system 110.

In the event a conflict arises between local media content and thegeneral media content in the allocation prediction, and associatedallocation amounts, the dynamic allocation system 600 operates toresolve the conflict.

For example, when the populated local advertisement spots for thepredetermined duration exceeds the general advertisement contentallocation amount and conflicts with the general advertisement content,the general advertisement content is pulled back from the populatedlocal advertisement spots to accommodate the local advertisement contentin the advertisement spots. The general advertisement content listing isupdated at the traffic and billing system 120, and sends an updaterequest over the manage general inventory 606 to the generaladvertisement system 122. The system 122 logs the pulled back status ofthe identified general advertisement content, which may be available forsubsequent populating the remaining advertising spots with generaladvertisement content at a later point.

In this manner, as contrasted to a conservative straight-line allocationprediction, the dynamic allocation system 600 may take advantage ofmaximizing advertisement revenue by accommodating broadcast airplay ofotherwise conflicting advertisement content between the general and thelocal mediums. Accordingly, greater revenue may be realized by theautomatic conflict resolution and foregoing a giving revenue loss inavoiding conflicts, which had previously been unresolvable, andaccepting the advertising revenue loss due to a conflict buffer 206(see, for example, FIG. 2).

Referring to FIG. 7, a method 700 for use in a content broadcast systemaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure will bediscussed. Starting at block 702, an advertisement content allocationprediction for broadcast airplay is set. The allocation predictionincludes a local advertisement content allocation amount and a generaladvertisement content allocation amount, which are substantiallycomplementary for a predetermined duration of the broadcast airplay.

Next, at block 704, a chronological schedule is imported by the system.The chronological schedule designates a plurality of media content spotsand a plurality of advertising spots for the predetermined duration.With the chronological schedule and the allocation prediction, thesystem populates the plurality of advertising spots at block 706, whichis discussed in further detail with reference to FIG. 8.

The system then generates a program log at block 708 based on thechronological schedule for the predetermined duration of the broadcastairplay. The program log indicates a populated plurality ofadvertisement spots in the broadcast airplay. The system then deliversat block 710, via a network interface, the program log for the broadcastairplay.

Referring to FIG. 8, the method 700 for use in a content broadcastsystem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure willbe further discussed. As shown, with populating the advertising spots,the system at 712 populates advertising spots with a local advertisementcontent listing to produce populated local advertising spots as directedby the chronological schedule and based on the allocation prediction.With respect to general advertisement content, the system sends arequest, via the network interface, at block 714 to queue generaladvertisement content based on the chronological schedule and thegeneral advertisement content allocation amount. Then, at block 716, thesystem populates remaining ones of the advertising spots with generaladvertisement content available from a general advertisement contentlisting of the chronological schedule. The population of theadvertisement spots may be the physical content, links, or identifierssufficient to enable broadcast airplay of the advertisement content.

When the populated local advertisement spots for the predeterminedduration exceed the general advertisement content allocation amount andconflicts with the general advertisement content at block 718, thesystem operates at block 720 to pull back the general advertisementcontent from the populated local advertisement spots to accommodate thelocal advertisement content in the plurality of advertisement spots. Thesystem at block 722 updates the general advertisement content listing toreflect a pulled back status of the general advertisement content. Indoing so, the general advertisement content that had been pulled back isagain available for populating another remaining ones of the advertisingspots. Then, at block 724, the system sends an update request, via thenetwork interface, to a general advertisement content source to log thepulled back status of the general advertisement content. Again, theupdate indicates that the general advertisement content is againavailable for subsequent populating the remaining ones of theadvertising spots with the general advertisement content. The populatingof the advertising spots then returns to the flow at FIG. 7 afterresolving the conflict at 718, or when no conflict occurs between thescheduling of the local advertisement content and the generaladvertisement content.

Also, in the event the number of scheduling conflicts duration exceedthe general advertisement content allocation amount beyond a conflictthreshold, the system may operate to adjust the advertisement contentallocation prediction to mitigate the number of conflicts. In thismanner, the system operates to adjust the advertisement contentallocation prediction for the local advertisement content allocationamount and the general advertisement content allocation amount to reducethe number exceeding the conflict threshold. Upon adjusting the contentallocations, the system sends a change request, via the networkinterface, indicating the adjustment of the advertisement contentallocation prediction for at least the general advertisement contentallocation amount.

Also, when there are unfilled blocks or unsold space in the localadvertisement allocation amount, the system may reallocate the space forscheduling of general advertisement content. That is, when the populatedlocal advertisement spots for the predetermined duration do not exceedthe general advertisement content amount, populate the remaining ones ofthe plurality of advertisement spots with the general advertisementcontent available from the general advertisement content listing.

Referring to FIG. 9, a method 900 for providing general advertisementcontent in a content broadcast system according to various embodimentsof the present disclosure will be discussed. As noted, the systemprovides allocations from the perspective of the general advertisementsystem 122 (see, for example, FIGS. 1-5).

At block 902, the system imports a chronological schedule, whichdesignates a plurality of media content spots and advertising spots fora predetermined duration and based on an advertisement contentallocation prediction. The chronological schedule can include a localadvertisement content listing and a general advertisement contentlisting. The system, at block 904, queues, based on the generaladvertisement content listing for the chronological schedule, generaladvertising content for at least one the advertising spots. The systemat block 806 creates a general advertisement content listing based onthe general advertisement content allocation amount. Then at block 908,the system receives, via the network interface, an update request. Theupdate request can include a request for updated network inventorystatus, including a request to determine whether least one of thegeneral advertising content can be pulled back by the traffic system forinventory reallocation. As illustrated at block 810, the externaladvertising system can reply to the update request by replying to thetraffic system with a message indicating that at least one of thegeneral advertisement content is available for broadcast, oralternatively that the at least one of the general advertisement contentshould not be pulled back. The system receives at block 912, via thenetwork interface, a request for the general advertisement content, andat block 914 initiates, in response to the request, broadcast airplay ofthe general advertisement content.

Referring next to FIG. 10, playout of local and network inventory by asystem 1000 including an instance or subsystem of a media automationsystem collocated with an advertisement appliance, will be discussedaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure. System 1000includes a media automation instance/subsystem 1010, advertisingappliance 1020, and audio server 1030. Media automationinstance/subsystem 1010 plays-out media content as instructed by abroadcast log. The broadcast log can include programming content, localspots associated with local inventory, and one or more placeholderentries, such as placeholder entry 1013 representing a “spot” fornetwork inventory. In at least one embodiment, placeholder entry 1013indicates an allotted time assigned to advertising appliance 1020 forplay-out of the external inventory.

Media automation instance/subsystem 1010 plays out content to audioserver 1030, until media automation instance/subsystem 1010 encountersplaceholder entry 1013. Upon encountering placeholder entry 1013, mediaautomation instance/subsystem 1010 temporarily stops playing out localcontent and programming, for example by playing-out silence, and sends anotification, for example a transmission control protocol (TCP) triggersignal, to advertisement appliance 1020. In various embodiments,advertisement appliance 1020 responds to the receipt of the triggersignal or other notification by beginning play-out of network inventoryto audio server 1030. In some embodiments, advertisement appliance 1020can also send an acknowledgement signal within approximately 200 ms,thereby confirming receipt of the trigger signal. Audio server 1030plays out received media into a main program, which is in turntransmitted to a station's broadcast equipment for broadcasttransmission.

In at least one embodiment, audio server 1030, includes audio mix module1035, which can combine media being played-out by media automationinstance/subsystem 1010 and advertising appliance 1020. Audio mix module1035 can be used in some embodiments to select between media automationsystem input 1032 and external advertisement input 1034, and connect theselected input to main program output 1036. Media automation systeminput 1032 and external advertisement input 1034 can be physicallyseparate inputs, or logical inputs implemented using a common physicalcommunications interface.

In other embodiments, instead of selecting between inputs, audio mixmodule 1035 can combine the inputs from media automation system input1032 and external advertisement input 1034 so that media received onboth inputs are mixed together into a single output. In this way audioserver can process received signals to implement various fade-ins andfade-outs, or otherwise manipulate the received media content in tandemto produce a more seamless transition between local inventory play outby media automation system input 1032 and network inventory playout byadvertising appliance 1020.

Referring next to FIG. 11, a Spot-Information interface (SI interface)1100 displaying information about dead-roll, or placeholder, cart willbe discussed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.SI interface 1100 can include multiple display areas arranged andconfigured to organize information related to spots included in abroadcast schedule, including spots allocated to local inventory to beplayed out by one media system and spots allocated to network inventoryto be played out by a second media system. In the illustratedembodiment, SI interface 1100 includes number field 1103 that can beused to display a cart identifier associated with the spot being viewed,where the term cart refers to a file to be played-out during the spot inquestion; a cut field 1105 that can be used as a version control toidentify different instances of a cart; an identifier type field 1107which can be used to identify the type of identifier displayed in numberfield 1103, for example whether the identifier is a unique identifier,as illustrated, is an identifier provided by an external source, orotherwise; a title field 1113 used to indicate a title of the cart; acomments field 1117; a file name field 1119 used to display a file nameand path of the cart; a category field 1121 used to indicate a carttype; a time area 1135 used to display various historical, time-relatedinformation about the cart; a characteristics area 1137 used to displaycontent characteristics associated with the spot being viewed; andvarious other metadata, scheduling, content, and other informationassociated with the spot being viewed.

In at least one embodiment, the contents of category field 1121 can beused to notify media automation instance/subsystem 1010 that a request,trigger message, TCP call, or similar signal is to be transmitted toadvertising appliance 1020. In some embodiments, a special value ofcategory field 1121 can be mapped to a specific, centrally managed setof carts that are coded with TCP messages to be sent to advertisementappliance via an Ethernet or other communication network. For example,the spot displayed by SI interface 1100 is assigned cart number 9000209,cut 1, which is an external audio cart. In at least one embodiment thecategory of “external audio” can be used to indicate that the spot beingviewed is reserved for broadcast of network inventory to be provided byan external advertisement system. The file associated with cart number9000209 can be found at X:\900020901.wav. In some embodiments, duringthe time that the external advertisement system is playing out networkinventory for broadcast, the media automation system can play out thefile X:\900020901.wav, which results in media automation system playingout silence, rather than playing out local inventory. Note at dead rollsare not considered local inventory for purposes of at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring next to FIG. 12, an Audio-Content interface (AC interface)1200 including an audio graph of a dead-roll cart, will be discussedaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure. AC interface1200 is populated with information from the same spot, discussed abovewith reference to FIG. 11. AC interface 1200 includes graph region 1210,which is used to display a graph of the audio content of cart number9000209, and multiple user selectable objects that can be used forediting, playing back, and previewing the contents of cart number9000209. As illustrated by graph region 1210, there is no audio contentincluded in cart number 9000209. Phrased another way, the audio contentof cart number 9000209 is “silence.” A cart with no audiocontent/silence is sometimes referred to as a dead roll, because playingout a cart with no audio content results in “dead air,” or silence.

In some embodiments, upon encountering, beginning playout, or preparingto begin playout of a dead roll or other cart associated with a spotdesignated for broadcast of network inventory, the media automationsystem playing out the dead roll or other cart can transmit a triggeringmessage to a network advertising system to notify the networkadvertising system that playout of network inventory should commence. Inat least one such embodiment, the network advertising system has beenpreviously made aware of the length of time allotted for playout ofnetwork content, and the network advertising system is expected to playout network inventory or other content sufficient to fill the allottedtime.

There can, however, be circumstances under which the network advertisingsystem does not fill the allotted time. For example, an advertisingappliance used by the network advertising system could malfunction. Inother circumstances, the network advertising system may be willing torelinquish a portion of its allotted time, because the networkadvertising system does not have a full complement of sold networkinventory for broadcast. To facilitate the return of previously allottedtime, a network advertising system can notify a media automation systemthat some or all of the time previously allotted for broadcast ofnetwork inventory can be used for broadcast of local inventory. In someembodiments, this notification can take the form of an early returnmessage.

Referring next to FIGS. 13-15, a control-room interface 1300 used toillustrate play-out and early-return of network inventory based on abroadcast log, will be discussed according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Control room interface 1300 includes a log displayarea 1301 displaying status, air time, description, event, and lengthinformation for broadcast log entries 1303, 1305, 1307, 1309, 1311,1313, and 1315; event timer 1334; block timer 1321, and variousadditional control and informational objects as illustrated in FIG. 13.

FIG. 13 shows a snapshot of control room interface 1300 at a first timeduring playout of spot block 1302. The spot block length 1323 in theillustrated embodiment is 2 minutes and 31.16 seconds. At the timeillustrated in FIG. 13, event timer 1334 indicates that the Fast FoodRestaurant spot 1307 is currently playing, and has 0 minutes and 28.6seconds remaining to completion. Block timer 1321 indicates that spotblock 1302 has 2 minutes and 28.2 seconds remaining to be played out.

Note that Radio Spot-AdService spot 1309 has a spot length 1325 of 1minute and 0.52 seconds, and is scheduled to air immediately followingcompletion of Fast Food Restaurant spot 1307. In the illustratedembodiment, Radio Spot-AdService spot 1309 is a placeholder entryindicating that an external advertisement system has been allotted 1minute and 0.52 seconds for broadcast of network advertising content.

FIG. 14 shows a snapshot of control room interface 1300 at a second timeduring playout of spot block 1302. At the time illustrated in FIG. 14,event timer 1334 indicates that the Fast Food Restaurant spot 1307 isstill playing, and has 0 minutes and 7.2 seconds remaining tocompletion. Block timer 1321 indicates that spot block 1302 has 2minutes and 7.7 seconds remaining to be played out.

In various implementations, the media automation system will continueplaying out spot block 1302 as indicated by the broadcast log shown inbroadcast log area 1301, unless the media automation system receivesinformation indicating that changes are to be made to the broadcast log.In at least one embodiment, when it is time to play-out RadioSpot-AdService spot 1309, the media automation system will transmit atrigger signal to an external advertisement system, notifying theexternal advertisement system that playout of network inventory shouldcommence. The external advertisement system will play out networkinventory for the allotted time of 1 minute and 0.52 seconds, duringwhich time the media automation system will play out silence orotherwise pause playout of local inventory. After 1 minute and 0.52seconds have elapsed, media automation system will resume playout oflocal inventory, in accordance with the broadcast log, by playing outgrocery store spot 1311.

However, at least some embodiments permit an early return from playoutof network inventory by the external advertisement system. For example,an external advertisement system can notify the media automation system,shortly before the time designated for broadcast of Radio Spot-AdServicespot 1309, that the full 1 minute and 0.52 seconds of time allotted foruse by the external advertisement system is not needed, and can bereturned to the media automation system. The notification can, bereceived after spot block 1302 has begun playing, but before RadioSpot-AdService spot 1309 has begun; after a final version of thebroadcast log has been provided to the media automation system, butbefore spot block 1302 has begun playing; and in some instances evenafter Radio Spot-AdService spot 1309 has begun playing.

FIG. 15 shows a snapshot of control room interface 1300 at a third timeduring playout of spot block 1302. It is assumed, for purposes of thisexample, that just prior to the time designated for Radio Spot-AdServicespot 1309 to be broadcast, the external advertisement service deliveredto the media automation system an early return message or othernotification indicating that the external advertisement service would beusing only 30 seconds of the time allocated for Radio Spot-AdServicespot 1309, and that the remaining 30.52 seconds allocated to RadioSpot-AdService spot 1309 will be returned for use by the mediaautomation system.

In response to the early return notification, media automation canchange the cue point of a local spot or other content scheduled tofollow Radio Spot-AdService spot 1309, and shorten the lengths of bothspot block length 1323 and spot length 1325 to reflect the 30 secondchange. Thus, for example, media automation system alters the broadcastlog so that spot block length 1323 is reduced from 2 minutes and 31.16seconds to 2 minutes and 1.39 seconds; and spot length 1325, whichindicates the length of Radio Spot-AdService spot 1309 is reduced from 1minute and 0.52 seconds to 0 minutes and 29.98 seconds. As a result, atthe time illustrated in FIG. 15, event timer 1334 will display aremaining time of 0 minutes and 28.0 seconds, and block timer 1321 willdisplay 1 minute and 27.9 seconds to show the time remaining until spotblock 1302 is to be completed.

In the illustrated embodiment, these changes effectively shift thescheduled cue times of following items forward by 30 seconds. In someembodiments, however, given sufficient notice from the externaladvertisement service, the recovered 30 seconds can be immediatelyreassigned for broadcast of local inventory, local fill, programming, orother media items.

In some embodiments, an early return from playout of network inventorycan trigger a bumped-spot process, in which the media automation systemnotifies a traffic and billing system of the newly available inventory,and the traffic and billing system selects appropriate local inventoryor other content to be inserted into the schedule.

In some embodiments, an early return indication need not be transmittedby the external advertisement system, but instead can include a failureto receive an expected communication from an appliance associated withthe external advertisement system. Thus, for example, if acommunications link between a media automation system and a networkadvertisement appliance associated with an external advertisementnetwork is served, for example by loss of wireless or wiredcommunication, the external advertisement system would be unable toeither receive trigger notifications, provide messages acknowledgingreceipt of the trigger notifications, or both. Thus, if two-waycommunication between a media automation system and an externaladvertisement network is lost, the media automation system would notreceive an expected message from the external advertisement system, andcould treat this failure to receive an expected message as if an earlyreturn notification had been received.

In various embodiments, network inventory information can be transmittedfrom a network advertisement appliance to a media automation system, anddecisions regarding early return can be made by the media automationsystem based on the inventory information. Thus, in some embodiments,early return can be implemented as an all-or-nothing process. Anall-or-nothing early return process can be used to completely skip deadroll carts if the external advertisement system cannot provide contentfor the entire allocated time, but otherwise disable partial earlyreturns.

In other embodiments, partial early returns can be “forced” by the mediaautomation system for any or all unsold network inventory. So, forexample, if the external advertisement system provides informationindicating that 70% of its allocated network inventory has been sold,then the media automation system can force an early return of the 30%unsold inventory. These types of embodiments can be referred to as“early-return on fill,” because early return is implemented only in thecase where the external advertisement system is playing out fill contentinstead of paid network spots. In yet other embodiments, early return isexecuted in response to approval from the external advertisement system,regardless of whether the network advertisement system has unsoldinventory or not.

Various disclosed embodiments can be implemented in hardware, software,or a combination containing both hardware and software elements. In oneor more embodiments, the method is implemented in software, whichincludes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode,etc. Some embodiments may be realized as a computer program product, andmay be implemented as a computer-usable or computer-readable mediumembodying program code for use by, or in connection with, a computer, aprocessor, other suitable instruction execution system.

For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computerreadable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store,communicate, or transport the program for use by or in connection withan instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. By way ofexample, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise any ofvarious types of computer storage media, including volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anysuitable method or technology for storage of information such ascomputer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data. Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium which can be used to store the desired informationand which can be accessed by a computer. Various embodiments of acomputer readable medium specifically exclude non-transitory signals.

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately”provides an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding termand/or relativity between items. Such an industry-accepted toleranceranges from less than one percent to fifty percent and corresponds to,but is not limited to, component values, integrated circuit processvariations, temperature variations, rise and fall times, and/or thermalnoise. Such relativity between items ranges from a difference of a fewpercent to magnitude differences. As may also be used herein, theterm(s) “configured to”, “operably coupled to”, “coupled to”, and/or“coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/or indirectcoupling between items via an intervening item (e.g., an item includes,but is not limited to, a component, an element, a circuit, and/or amodule) where, for an example of indirect coupling, the intervening itemdoes not modify the information of a signal but may adjust its currentlevel, voltage level, and/or power level. As may further be used herein,inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled to another elementby inference) includes direct and indirect coupling between two items inthe same manner as “coupled to”. As may even further be used herein, theterm “configured to”, “operable to”, “coupled to”, or “operably coupledto” indicates that an item includes one or more of power connections,input(s), output(s), etc., to perform, when activated, one or more itscorresponding functions and may further include inferred coupling to oneor more other items. As may still further be used herein, the term“associated with”, includes direct and/or indirect coupling of separateitems and/or one item being embedded within another item.

As may be used herein, the term “compares favorably”, indicates that acomparison between two or more items, signals, etc., provides a desiredrelationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that signal1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparison may beachieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that of signal 2or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal 1.

As may also be used herein, the terms “processing module”, “processingcircuit”, “processor”, and/or “processing unit” may be a singleprocessing device or a plurality of processing devices. Such aprocessing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of thecircuitry and/or operational instructions. The processing module,module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit may be, or furtherinclude, memory and/or an integrated memory element, which may be asingle memory device, a plurality of memory devices, and/or embeddedcircuitry of another processing module, module, processing circuit,and/or processing unit. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory,random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any devicethat stores digital information. Note that if the processing module,module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit includes more thanone processing device, the processing devices may be centrally located(e.g., directly coupled together via a wired and/or wireless busstructure) or may be distributedly located (e.g., cloud computing viaindirect coupling via a local area network and/or a wide area network).Further note that if the processing module, module, processing circuit,and/or processing unit implements one or more of its functions via astate machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logiccircuitry, the memory and/or memory element storing the correspondingoperational instructions may be embedded within, or external to, thecircuitry comprising the state machine, analog circuitry, digitalcircuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Still further note that, the memoryelement may store, and the processing module, module, processingcircuit, and/or processing unit executes, hard coded and/or operationalinstructions corresponding to at least some of the steps and/orfunctions illustrated in one or more of the Figures. Such a memorydevice or memory element can be included in an article of manufacture.

One or more embodiments of an invention have been described above withthe aid of method steps illustrating the performance of specifiedfunctions and relationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence ofthese functional building blocks and method steps have been arbitrarilydefined herein for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries andsequences can be defined so long as the specified functions andrelationships are appropriately performed. Any such alternate boundariesor sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claims.Further, the boundaries of these functional building blocks have beenarbitrarily defined for convenience of description. Alternate boundariescould be defined as long as the certain significant functions areappropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocks may also havebeen arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certain significantfunctionality. To the extent used, the flow diagram block boundaries andsequence could have been defined otherwise and still perform the certainsignificant functionality. Such alternate definitions of both functionalbuilding blocks and flow diagram blocks and sequences are thus withinthe scope and spirit of the claimed invention. One of average skill inthe art will also recognize that the functional building blocks, andother illustrative blocks, modules and components herein, can beimplemented as illustrated or by discrete components, applicationspecific integrated circuits, processors executing appropriate softwareand the like or any combination thereof.

The one or more embodiments are used herein to illustrate one or moreaspects, one or more features, one or more concepts, and/or one or moreexamples of the invention. A physical embodiment of an apparatus, anarticle of manufacture, a machine, and/or of a process may include oneor more of the aspects, features, concepts, examples, etc. describedwith reference to one or more of the embodiments discussed herein.Further, from figure to figure, the embodiments may incorporate the sameor similarly named functions, steps, modules, etc. that may use the sameor different reference numbers and, as such, the functions, steps,modules, etc. may be the same or similar functions, steps, modules, etc.or different ones.

Unless specifically stated to the contra, signals to, from, and/orbetween elements in a figure of any of the figures presented herein maybe analog or digital, continuous time or discrete time, and single-endedor differential. For instance, if a signal path is shown as asingle-ended path, it also represents a differential signal path.Similarly, if a signal path is shown as a differential path, it alsorepresents a single-ended signal path. While one or more particulararchitectures are described herein, other architectures can likewise beimplemented that use one or more data buses not expressly shown, directconnectivity between elements, and/or indirect coupling between otherelements as recognized by one of average skill in the art.

The term “module” may be used in the description of one or more of theembodiments. A module includes a processing module, a processor, afunctional block, hardware, and/or memory that stores operationalinstructions for performing one or more functions as may be describedherein. Note that, if the module is implemented via hardware, thehardware may operate independently and/or in conjunction with softwareand/or firmware. As also used herein, a module may contain one or moresub-modules, each of which may be one or more modules.

Various embodiments have been described for local and generaladvertisement content in schedules, that may be reallocated to resolvescheduling conflicts, or otherwise increase realized advertisementcontent and related increase in revenue. Other variations andmodifications of the embodiments disclosed may be made based on thedescription provided, without departing from the scope of the inventionas set forth in the following.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a media automation systemincluding a processing device programmed to play-out media items forbroadcast in accordance with a broadcast log; a traffic system coupledto the media automation system, the traffic system including at leastone processor programmed to: generate a first broadcast log to schedulelocal inventory for broadcast according to a first allocation of totalinventory, the first allocation designating: a first portion of thetotal inventory for broadcast of the local inventory; a second portionof the total inventory for use by an external advertisement system; athird portion of the total inventory as a buffer; receive inventoryallocation information from the external advertisement system; generatean adjusted allocation based on the inventory allocation information;generate an adjusted broadcast log based on the adjusted allocation; andtransmit the adjusted broadcast log to the media automation system. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein: the broadcast log includes: localentries specifying local inventory to be played out in particularspot-blocks corresponding to the first portion; placeholder entriescorresponding to external inventory to be played out by the externaladvertisement system; the media automation system is coupled to theexternal advertisement system; and the processing device is furtherprogrammed to transmit a trigger message to the external advertisementsystem in conjunction with the placeholder entries, the trigger messageindicating that the external advertisement system is to begin playingout external inventory, while the media automation system temporarilystops play-out local inventory.
 3. The system of claim 2, whereinstopping playout of local inventory includes playing out silence.
 4. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein: the placeholder entries indicates anallotted time assigned to the external advertisement system for play-outof the external inventory; the processing device included in the mediaautomation system is further programmed to: receive an indication thatthe external advertisement system will not use all of the allotted time;and in response to the indication, resume play-out of local inventorybefore the allotted time has expired.
 5. The system of claim 4, whereinthe indication includes receiving an early-return message from theexternal advertisement system.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein theindication includes failing to receive an expected message from theexternal advertisement system.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein thetraffic system schedules local inventory for a plurality of mediastations; and the traffic system generates a plurality of adjustedallocations on a station-by-station basis.
 8. A method comprising:generating a first broadcast log scheduling local inventory forbroadcast according to a first allocation of total inventory, the firstallocation designating: a first portion of the total inventory forbroadcast of the local inventory; a second portion of the totalinventory for use by an external advertisement system; a third portionof the total inventory as a buffer; receiving inventory allocationinformation from the external advertisement system; generating anadjusted allocation based on the inventory allocation information;generating an adjusted broadcast log based on the adjusted allocation;transmitting the adjusted broadcast log to a media automation system;and playing-out local inventory for broadcast in accordance with theadjusted broadcast log.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein: the broadcastlog includes: local entries relating to the first portion, the localentries specifying first times local inventory is to be played out;placeholder entries relating to the second portion, the placeholderentries specifying second times external inventory is to be played out;the method further including: temporarily suspending play-out of localinventory during second times; and transmitting trigger messages to theexternal advertisement system based on the placeholder entries, thetrigger messages notifying the external advertisement system to beginplaying out the external inventory.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein:the placeholder entries correspond to dead rolls; and temporarilysuspending play-out of local inventory includes playing-out at least oneof the dead rolls.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein: individualplaceholder entries indicate an allotted time assigned to the externaladvertisement system for play-out of the external inventory; the methodfurther including: receiving, at a media automation system, anindication that the external advertisement system will not use all ofthe allotted time; and in response to the indication, resuming play-outof local inventory prior-to expiration of the allotted time.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the indication includes receiving anearly-return message from the external advertisement system.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the indication includes failing to receivean expected message from the external advertisement system.
 14. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: determining the first allocationof total inventory using a backend traffic system instance supporting aplurality of media stations; and determining the adjusted allocation attraffic system instance supporting less than all of the plurality ofmedia stations.
 15. A system comprising: a traffic and billing systemincluding a backend subsystem and a local subsystem; the backendsubsystem configured to: determine a first allocation of totalinventory, the first allocation designating: a first portion of thetotal inventory to be used for broadcast of local inventory by localmedia automation systems; a second portion of the total inventory to beused for broadcast of network inventory by an advertisement system;transmit the first allocation to the local portion of the localsubsystem; the local subsystem coupled to backend subsystem and theadvertisement system via a communications network, the local subsystemconfigured to: receive network inventory allocation information,associated with the network inventory, from the advertisement system;generate an adjusted allocation based on the network inventoryallocation information; generate a broadcast log based on the adjustedallocation; and transmit the adjusted broadcast log to a stationautomation server for broadcast.
 16. The system of claim 15, furthercomprising: wherein the broadcast log includes: local entries specifyinglocal inventory to be played out in particular spot-blocks; networkentries corresponding to network inventory to be played out by theadvertisement system; a station automation server coupled to anadvertisement system appliance, and configured to broadcast inventory inaccordance with the broadcast log; and the station automation serverconfigured to: transmit a trigger message to the advertisement systemappliance in conjunction with the network entries, the trigger messageindicating that the advertisement system appliance is play-out networkinventory; and temporarily stop playing-out local inventory duringplay-out of the network inventory.
 17. The system of claim 15, whereinthe station automation server is configured to temporarily stopplaying-out local inventory by playing-out a dead roll.
 18. The systemof claim 15, wherein: individual network entries indicate an allottedtime assigned to the advertisement system for play-out of the networkinventory; the station automation server is further configured to:receive an indication from the advertisement system appliance that theadvertisement system does not have sufficient network inventory to fillthe allotted time; and in response to the indication, resume play-out oflocal inventory before the allotted time has expired.
 19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the indication includes receiving an early-returnmessage from the external advertisement system.
 20. The system of claim18, wherein the indication includes failing to receive an expectedmessage from the external advertisement system.